Former MI5 Director To Probe Labour Donor Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 Source: The Sun Online

A former spy chief will head a probe into expenses claims by Labour donor Lord Paul. The millionaire sought £38,000 in overnight allowances after registering a flat he has never slept in as his main residence. The case will be investigated by a House of Lords sub-committee chaired by former MI5 director general Eliza Manningham-Buller. Details of the inquiry emerged as steel magnate Lord Paul moved to end the controversy surrounding his tax affairs. The peer, who gave £45,000 to Gordon Brown's Labour leadership campaign, said he was giving up his "non dom" status. It means he will start paying tax in the UK on all his earnings, including money he makes abroad. The move will also allow him to keep his seat in the Lords. Probe ... Labour's PaulLord Paul, who has also donated £400,000 to the Labour Party, said: "I will be paying all the taxes. I will be qualifying to be in the House of Lords." The peer also announced that inquiries by the Metropolitan Police into his expenses claims had been abandoned. But he was embarrassed when details of the Lords probe were later revealed. A Lords spokesman said: "His case has now been referred to the sub-committee on Lords' interests." The peer could be booted out of the Lords for up to five years if the inquiry finds he did wrong. Meanwhile it was revealed that Ministers piled more pressure on taxpayers last year by getting their chauffeurs to drive them 2.63MILLION miles - or 11 times to the moon. The cost of limos was £14.8million - up more than a third since 2005. Labour's 111 Ministers were each driven an average of 23,693 miles in 2009. Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps, who exposed the figures, said: "It's as if Ministers have been living on another planet. "Conservatives would cut the cost of official Government cars by a third."   To see the article please click on the link below. The Sun Online Courtesy of SecurityOracle.com - The Secury Industry's Portal